Five years on from a reckoning & how the NWSL players saved the league | Full Time Podcast

Five years ago, the NWSL was facing a reckoning over systemic abuse within women’s soccer. With play halted and protests from players and fans across the country, no one was sure if the league would survive.

Five years on, the league barely resembles the NWSL of the past. But how did we get here? And how did the NWSL players save their league and shape its future?

On this special episode of Full Time, host Jillian Sakovits is joined by The Athletic’s Meg Linehan to trace the developments in the league since its biggest crisis in the wake of reporting on abuse in the NWSL in 2021. Former NWSL and U.S. women’s national team player Meghan Klingenberg also joins the show to share her insight from being a player with the Portland Thorns back in 2021, and reflect on the legacy that the NWSL Players Association helped to create in the wake of the reckoning.

Referenced article:

nytimes.com/athletic/7640996/2026/09/30/nwsl-misconduct-abuse-investigation-growth-player

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.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/full-time/

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